After 10 weeks of dance training and fundraising, 10 Ballarat identities including a gym owner, real estate agent, accountant, cafe owner and photographer will be taking the stage on Saturday night for Dancing With Our Stars.

While many of the stars accepted the offer to join the dance challenge to raise funds for Ballarat residents doing it tough, they are walking away with a better knowledge of the Ballarat community and some dance moves they did not know they were capable of.

IN THE NEWS:

When The Courier last spoke to gym owner Sean Weir he was surprised about how much fitness was involved with his dance classes.

He expressed he was a little worried about how fast his dance was and knew there was some work to do to get it up to scratch. Eight weeks later and with hours to go until he hits the stage, he is feeling much better.

"We have stepped it up over the last three to four weeks and I am feeling really good, very confident and very excited," Mr Weir said.

He said The Dance Studio owner Shelley Ross and his dance partner Rochelle Kirkham have been very patient with him.

"They have been able to get me up to speed which is really good and I am pretty much there now," Mr Weir said.

DANCING INSPIRATION:

Psychologist Ellen Jackson is in a similar boat. A few weeks ago she was impressed with how many health benefits come along with ballroom dancing, including physical, mental and social.

"Early on you just think it is so difficult and I am never going to get these steps and then slowly over time you start to get the hang of it," Ms Jackson said.

"There is a real kind of growth and progression in your learning and your ability to pull all of these different elements together."

Ms Jackson said she was very excited to get out on the stage.

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